It’s not very spiritual and yet this is one of the most important spiritual things you can do.
Exercise.
Our mind, body, and spirit are all connected, and when one is not being nurtured, the others are affected. So, taking care of our bodies is critical to our emotional and spiritual health and thus our ministry to others.
I started walking again this week. Granted, my knees are a little stiff this morning and my hip is giving me some trouble (I sound like my grandmother!) but my mind and spirit are energetic and have been lifted out of the muck and mud I’ve been wrestling in lately. Wrestling in the mud of doubt and discouragement but wrestling still.
I discovered (again) that when I’m not exercising, pumping endorphins into my brain, I prefer to watch more television and eat more potato chips. But when I’m walking consistently I want to eat better, and I prefer other activities than the T.V., my mind is clearer and discouragement begins to loose the wrestling match. My mind and spirit are renewed as well as my body.
If you are physically unable to get outside to walk, do exercises in your bed or chair. I know it is possible because my elderly neighbor has a list of exercises she can do. Even chair exercises get the blood pumping and those endorphins moving.
Put music in your ears. Grab a friend to walk with you or make your time of exercise a time of prayer, praying up the houses in your neighborhood and the schools you walk around.
Soldiers do physical training every morning so that they are always prepared for the battle. As part of a spiritual army, I want to encourage you to do the same.
Exercise my friends! It’s not just for the body. It’s for our service to God. Ministry.
Much grace,
andy
Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:1,2).
